January 27, 2019

 

It's rare that a Louisville Water employee would ever need to gain access to your home.  In fact, Louisville Water employees only pay visits in response to a customer request (e.g. water quality testing, leak detection, etc.). Even in the case of Boil Water Advisories, there is no need to enter the home.

 

Unfortunately, we have had reports of people posing as Louisville Water employees to gain access to unsuspecting customer homes.

 

Take the following steps to ensure the person visiting your is a valid employee:

  • Ask for identification.  All Louisville Water employees have badges with their photo, employee ID no., and the Louisville Water Company logo. Do not allow anyone in the home that cannot present this badge.

  • Look for a Louisville Water vehicle.  Louisville Water vehicles bear the company logo and a vehicle ID no.  Typically, you'll see one parked somewhere on your street when employees are in the area.
  • Call the police.  If you think someone is posing as a Louisville Water employee to enter your home, call the police immediately and alert your neighbors. Often times, imposters are checking to see if someone is home or is “casing” the home for valuables to return later and steal.
  • Call Louisville Water Company.  Report any concerns to our customer service at 502.583.6610.
Signs of Potential Scam Activity:
  • Threat to disconnect: Scammers may aggressively tell the customer his or her utility bill is past due and service will be disconnected if a payment is not made – usually within less than an hour.
  • Request for immediate payment: Scammers may instruct the customer to purchase a prepaid card – widely available at retail stores – then call them back supposedly to make a bill payment to his or her utility company.
  • Request for prepaid card: When the customer calls back, the caller asks the customer for the prepaid card’s number, which grants the scammer instant access to the card’s funds, and the victim’s money is gone.
How Customers Can Protect Themselves:
  • Customers should never purchase a prepaid card to avoid service disconnection or shutoff. Legitimate utility companies do not specify how customers should make a bill  payment and always offer a variety of ways to pay a bill, including accepting payments online, by phone, automatic bank draft, mail, or in person.
  • If someone threatens immediate disconnection or shutoff of service, customers should hang up the phone, delete the email or shut the door. Customers with delinquent accounts receive an advance disconnection notification, typically by mail and included with their regular monthly bill. Companies never send a single notification one hour or less before disconnection.​​ 
  • If customers suspect someone is trying to scam them, they should hang up, delete the email, or shut the door. They should then call their utility company at the number on their monthly bill or the company’s website, not the phone number the scammer provides. If customers ever feel that they are in physical danger, they should call 911.